Local Briefs: Indiana

January 14, 2009|STAFF REPORTS

EVENTSFestivities to honor King and Obama SOUTH BEND -- A "Celebration of Cultural Achievement" on Monday and Tuesday at the Elks Lodge, 1001 W. Western Ave., will honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and President-elect Barack Obama. Both events are free and open to the public. The celebration for King will begin at 10 a.m. Monday, which is the Martin Luther King Day holiday. The celebration for Obama will begin at 10 a.m. Tuesday, which is Inauguration Day. Both events will feature a photo gallery of the life and achievements of the two men. Some prints will be available for purchase. At 1 p.m. each day, light refreshments will be served. The events are sponsored by LaSalle Landing Lodge No. 298 and Pride of South Bend Temple No. 264. EVENTSLegal questions answered Monday SOUTH BEND -- As a part of Monday's events to mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day, lawyers with the Indiana State Bar Association will meet one-on-one with folks, at no charge, to answer general questions and offer general legal information. The lawyers will be available for 10- to 15-minute consultations only. The event will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday be at St. Joseph County Public Library, 304 S. Main St. Also, a statewide hot line will be available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday at (800) 266-2581. Or, for a hot line in Spanish, call during that time at (800) 279-8772. EVENTSIsland Park work to be discussed SOUTH BEND -- Proposals to renovate Island Park adjacent to Century Center will be presented at a meeting at 1 p.m. Friday. The public meeting of Century Center board's executive and finance/personnel committees will be in Suite 13 at the convention center. Architects' presentations of the proposed island renovation will be shown and discussed at the meeting. CRIME & COURTSInstruments stolen; woman arrested ELKHART -- Police have arrested a female employee of the Conn-Selmer musical instrument factory, 600 Industrial Parkway, in the alleged theft of musical instruments from the plant. In early December, South Bend police were notified by a South Bend pawn shop that a woman had brought in several flutes and piccolos and pawned them, according to Elkhart police. A South Bend officer contacted Conn-Selmer to ask about the instruments. Conn-Selmer conducted an inventory and discovered at least 13 instruments were missing, according to police. A theft report was filed Dec. 12 that alleged the musical instruments had been removed from the factory between April and November. Officers interviewed several people, including the female employee, who was responsible for inventory during the time the instruments were stolen, according to police. The woman, arrested Monday, was not the same woman who pawned the instruments, so there may be additional arrests, police said. The value of the individual instruments is $380 to $1,300, with a total estimated value of $13,300, police said.